True North, Emerging Leader Edition, 3rd Edition

9YOUR NORTH STAR

Work takes on new meaning when you feel you're pointed in the right direction. Otherwise, it's just a job. And life is too short for that.

—Tim Cook, CEO, Apple

Your North Star is the purpose of your leadership. You may search for many years until you find your North Star, and an organization where your purpose is in sync with its purpose.

First, you need to discover your True North, which reveals who you are, and develop yourself as we discussed in Part II. This process includes “rubbing up against the world” to understand the challenges you will face and be able to make thoughtful choices about where to devote yourself and your leadership.

Then your compass will point the way to your North Star, a constant light in the sky that reveals your purpose. In turn, your North Star unlocks your passion and energy and draws people to you as a leader. If you find alignment between your personal purpose and your organization's purpose, it becomes the motivating force of your leadership that binds people together toward common goals.

Hubert Joly: Finding His North Star

From an early age, French‐born Hubert Joly achieved at a prodigious pace. He built a reputation at McKinsey as the smartest guy in the room and made partner by age 30, a signal achievement. He went on to lead EDS France and then turned around Vivendi's video games division.

Leaving Vivendi to become chief executive officer (CEO) of Carlson‐Wagonlit Travel (CWT), Hubert thought he was leading effectively, ...